Iced
by Mako1
Summary: Hey I'm on a sports roll! Ice hockey this time and no I don't nor have I ever played the game. I do know though that blood does bounce on ice. ^^


Iced.  
  
Author Chick's Notes: Now I am a tropic baby to the core. I have spent well over half of my life within a few degrees of the equator, however.^^ I now live about an hour shy of San Jose, home of the Sharks (and no the irony is not lost on me either, or a few of me mates who know me a tad to well.) And seeing as I am a member of the Commonwealth and Canada is a fellow Commonwealth country, not to mention they tend to be more peaceful then their southern neighbour, another irony is not lost on me either.namely Canada = Ice Hockey, quite possibly one of the most violent sports out there! And yes I cheered like a maniac watching the men's team win the men's final in the 2002 Olympics. ^^ I own nadda except Marina. And though it is humorous, I do not endorse the pranks Cover Girl pulls in this fic.even if friends of mine have done this in the past.me included. ^^  
  
Iced.  
  
Warm. It was so warm buried under soft down comforters and cosy flannel sheets. The dream wasn't too bad either, at least until something started blowing on his ear.  
  
"Mph.go 'way." Lifeline swatted at his ear hoping to drive whatever was there, away. The frown had just disappeared from his brow when the soft blowing started again. Cracking an eye open in the dimly lit room he looked over his shoulder. "Sci-Fi? Wha?"  
  
Sci-Fi smirked down at the groggy medic and handed him his glasses. "Get up dude. The pond is frozen solid!"  
  
"Pond? Sol. Oh!" Lifeline was alert in a matter of seconds.  
  
Down in the cafeteria others were digging into breakfast. Roadblock had pulled breakfast duty, much to everyone's delight. Low Light looked up when Sci-Fi entered and glanced to his side. Steeler looked over at the sniper when Low Light elbowed him, then to the door. Grinning the two looked over to Snow Job who was enjoying an unhealthy mountain of pancakes.  
  
"Pay up Blow Job!" Steeler crowed over his coffee cup. Snow Job was about to retort when he saw Lifeline following Sci-Fi. Glancing at the clock on the wall, Snow Job cursed as he handed over a large wad of cash to the two grinning at him.  
  
Sci-Fi walked up to Low Light and held out his hand for his cut in the winnings. "Nice doing business with ya, schmuck." He smiled as he counted off the bills.  
  
"How long did it take?" Low Light asked between sips of coffee.  
  
"Mention the words 'pond' and 'frozen solid' and he's up in no time flat." Sci-Fi smirked. A few others joined them for breakfast and it wasn't long before everyone in the cafeteria knew that it was the official start of the Joe's hockey season. Ace and Snow Job were handling the bets that flew around the room like pros.  
  
Lifeline joined Sci-Fi at the table he was seated at and purred into his coffee cup. "I've been waiting for to long for this." He murmured. Sci-Fi looked at the steaming cup and couldn't help but ask.  
  
"White Chocolate Death?" *  
  
"Yup."  
  
"You take the whole 'Seattle' thing just a tad to seriously don't ya?" Lifeline just smirked at Sci-Fi and drank his coffee.  
  
Outside, Frostbite looked up when he heard the door open. He'd been up earlier to check the condition of the pond and set up the goals. He also had his gear in a bag at his feet. "Morning." Frostbite grinned.  
  
Sci-Fi ambled over to the man and dumped his bag down in the fresh snow. "Morning dude. They're out there aren't they?"  
  
"Mm-hmm." Frostbite hummed.  
  
"Been ambushed yet?"  
  
"Twice."  
  
"Saw it coming?"  
  
"Nope." Frostbite scanned the surrounding area and still couldn't see his pride and joy. Sci-Fi took a look around and couldn't see anything suspicious either.  
  
"They're just waiting to nail the." Sci-Fi's question was cut off when a pile of snow heaved suddenly and buried Lifeline in an enthusiastic greeting.  
  
Lifeline laughed as he petted the three dogs that had piled on him from seemingly out of nowhere. "Cute dogs but man they're evil in their element." Sci-Fi muttered as he watched Frostbite's Eskimo dogs bounce around in the soft deep snow. Sci-Fi had grown up with the breed and knew all to well how they loved to ambush people in winter. "Mom had a whole pack of the things. Got to the point where we'd just go outside and wait for it." Sci-Fi laughed as he and Frostbite watched Lifeline emerge from under the pile of dogs.  
  
Steeler came to stand next to them. "We gonna jaw all day or are we gonna play hockey?" He asked. Frostbite whistled and the three dogs came barrelling towards him. Snow Job came over and took the unruly pack off their owner's hands.  
  
"Puppies!" The red head laughed as the three fluffy white dogs smothered him. Frostbite joined the rest of the group heading towards the pond.  
  
Iceberg watched as his best buddy laced up his skates. "Your dad know about your love of a sport associated with violence?" He teased.  
  
"He should." Lifeline replied. "Who do you think strapped skates to my feet when he figured out I'd mastered that walking thing as a toddler?" He added, pulling his helmet on. A few of the others within earshot gawked at the normally gentle medic.  
  
"Well that explains a few things." Steeler wondered as he shimmied out of his winter coat.  
  
Doc had braved the early morning cold to watch the game. He watched as the players got into their gear and got a feel for the ice. "No roughing up my medic!" Doc taunted them.  
  
Low Light looked at him awe. "No roughing up your medic! Who the hell is gonna warn him not to rough US up?" Doc laughed when Low Light dodged said medic, who had chosen just then to zip past him.  
  
General Hawk was the umpire for the game and he got the two teams together. "Same rules apply." He started. "Not that it matters, seeing as you break them every year anyway." He muttered under his breath. "I expect the body checking to be kept to a minimum."  
  
"No." Lifeline pouted.  
  
Hawk frowned at him before continuing. "To avoid landslide scoring like last time, I'm going to shuffle the teams around a little. And no whining, I'm the general here and I can do what I want." He smirked. "After last year's debacle, Lifeline, Iceberg, Sci-Fi and Low Light are no longer allowed to be on the same team."  
  
"No fair!"  
  
"Tough." Hawk replied. More whining emitted from the group as Hawk continued. "Okay that settled, let's play!"  
  
Lifeline and Sci-Fi stayed on their team, while Low Light and Iceberg joined the other side. Frostbite and Flash skated over to replace them. Someone in the crowd heckled about singing the national anthem and Low Light and Sci-fi were only too glad to oblige. "Oh Canada!" The two started.  
  
"Wrong anthem!" Steeler hollered.  
  
Sci-Fi looked at the tanker innocently while Low Light pointed between the two. "Dual citizenship." He grinned.  
  
"Scratch the anthem!" Hawk ordered from the middle of the pond. Holding up the puck, Hawk eyed who would be shooting for it. He dropped the inconspicuous piece of rubber to the ice and moved out of harm's way quickly, while Sci-Fi and Low Light fought for control of the tiny piece of black rubber.  
  
Meanwhile back in the Rec room, the ladies of the team were gathering to enjoy a relatively male free morning. The October Guard had just wrapped up a round of war games with the Joes and were staying a little while longer for 'Information trading' as Brekhov had explained to his superiors. In other words, the Colonel had lied through his teeth to Moscow. The Guard were hanging out a little longer to enjoy the company of their American counterparts.  
  
Diana entered the room in her pyjamas, a steaming cup of tea held tightly in her hand as she took a seat by the window. "Ice hockey? Why wasn't I told?" She asked Scarlet who was nearest to her.  
  
Scarlet looked up from her book and thought for a moment. "Remember the rugby game a few months back?" Diana winced and nodded yes. "Rugby's about as hazardous as a tea party compared to how the boys play hockey." Scarlet finished.  
  
"Ohhh." Diana looked back at the pond and saw the shoot off getting ugly. "Never mind then." She smiled. Cover Girl entered just then. Her eyes were still half closed and she held her coffee lovingly as she plopped down on the couch. Picking her cel phone out of her robe's pocket, she began dialing a long distance number.  
  
Lady Jaye was about to ask whom Cover Girl was calling when Marina walked in, holding a small bucket. "Where's your Hawaiian half?" She asked.  
  
"Refusing to get out of bed."  
  
Lady Jaye raised an eyebrow at the oceanographer as Marina stepped outside. "Torpedo hard to get out of bed? He's usually a nightmare to get to GO to bed." Lady Jaye stated. Marina came back in just then, Lady Jaye noticed that the bucket was now full of snow.  
  
"I have no problems getting him into bed." She smirked. "The only thing is, a force greater then man is keeping him in it this morning." Marina added as she walked towards the door. A few of them asked what force that was and Marina grinned. "Cold temperatures." She winked as she left.  
  
Across the room Cover Girl had gotten through on her phone. "Yeah hello. Anaheim Exterminations?" 'Anaheim', Jinx mouthed to the others questioningly. "Yeah I've got two huge rats I need taken care of immediately." Cover Girl continued. The rest of the women in the room were exchanging baffled looks as they listened in. "Yeah one of them is in a tux and the other one wears a polka dot dress. You'll find em terrorizing tourists in Disneyland." Cover Girl laughed as she closed the phone, ending the call. "Wha? I haven't harassed them in ages." Cover Girl defended. Sparta and Glenda, who were playing an intense game of chess, both howled in laughter.  
  
Scarlet was about to lecture Cover Girl on the evils of prank phone calls when they heard a tremendous scream. Marina dashed back into the Rec Room and pretended to have been there for a while. Sparta, eyes wide open, stared at her for a moment before laughing. "You didn't?" Marina just played with a strand of long blonde hair and grinned at the British woman. Glenda was doubled over now, her eyes tearing up from laughing so hard.  
  
Meanwhile, back out on the ice, blood had been spilled. Steeler just wiped at his chin where the puck had managed to get under his facemask and continued to guard his goal. Lifeline however wouldn't be robbed of a point as he got control of the puck again. Steeler kept his eyes glued to the black spot that was being zipped around the ice and waited. Lifeline saw the goalie smirk and before he could react Low Light came in from behind him and snatched the puck. "Mine!"  
  
"Over my dead body." Lifeline vowed as he raced after the sniper to get the puck back.  
  
"That can be arranged!" Low Light retorted as he set up for a shot at the goal behind Ripcord. Low Light never got his chance though as Lifeline used his slighter built to knock him completely off his feet and swipe the puck towards Sci-Fi who had been left wide open.  
  
Steeler saw Sci-Fi barrelling for him and gulped. "Ah shit." He swore as Sci-Fi twisted the upper half of his body back to take a swing at the puck. Steeler didn't see it move so much as get larger in size. The puck was coming straight at him and on reflex Steeler held up his hand to catch it. He did get a hold of it and dropped it back to the ice. Catching a glimpse of Iceberg to his left, Steeler sent the puck the man's way. Sci-Fi was about to haul after Iceberg, when Hawk blew the whistle.  
  
"Wha? Period's over already?" Sci-Fi asked in bewilderment. He felt as though they had only just started. Ripcord tossed his helmet into the snow next to the bench and promptly flopped down on the soft white ground. Cover Girl had showered and dressed and came out to watch the game.  
  
"Hey Princess? Came to join in?" Steeler asked as Doc took a look at his gashed chin.  
  
Cover Girl snorted a laugh. "I might be the son my Daddy never had Blondie, but I ain't that crazy." She replied. Sci-Fi had stayed on the ice and was now tapping the puck into the air with his stick. He tossed it high enough and with a solid 'crack' sent it flying into the net. "That's a shame gorgeous." Sci-Fi replied after skating over to retrieve the puck.  
  
Doc applied butterfly tape to Steeler's chin just as Hawk called the second period. The two teams skated back out to the ice after their rest and resumed play. "How many stitches is that going to take to fix?" Cover Girl asked Doc as they watched Flash take a mean hit from Iceberg.  
  
"Which one? Steeler or Iceberg?" Doc asked. He got up and dashed over to the man lying on the ice to look him over.  
  
"I'm okay Doc, just got the wind knocked out of.Ow." Iceberg replied. Iceberg tried flexing his wrist again and winced. "On second thought." Doc took a look at his wrist and declared it sprained at best, broken at worst. After getting Iceberg off the ice and replacing him with Short Fuse, the game continued. Stretcher escorted the injured man to the Infirmary for a closer look at his hand.  
  
Cover Girl hid a round of giggles behind her gloved hand as Doc sat back down next to her cursing about how much he hated hockey season. Another man joined the two on the bench. "Hey Carl." He greeted warmly. He nodded a greeting at Cover Girl and turned his gaze to watch the game.  
  
"What's shaking Gums?" Doc returned. 'Gums' was the nickname the Joes had given the dentist that resided on base. Someone had once asked him if he hated when the pond froze. He just shrugged and said it kept him in business.  
  
The dentist laughed. "How many teeth am I replacing so far?" He asked Doc.  
  
Doc shook his head before answering. "I'd check Steeler's bridge if I were you. The kid took a pretty good shot to the chin."  
  
Cover Girl looked at the two questioningly. "Bridge? Steeler has a bridge?"  
  
"Yup. Got it last year after getting nailed in the mouth by Lifeline, why?" Cover Girl just gawked at the dentist before returning her attention to the game.  
  
Back on the ice, Iceberg's replacement was making life difficult for Ripcord. After another missed shot, Short Fuse narrowed his eyes and swung his stick. Ripcord felt his knee pop, as he dropped into a semi split to try and save the goal. No good. Short Fuse had done some lightening fast calculations and had been rewarded handsomely.  
  
Ripcord flexed his leg a little before handing the puck off to Lifeline. The medic was mad now. The opposition had scored before their team and Lifeline was not the slightest bit happy about it. Sci-Fi saw the look of determination in the medic's eye and grinned. Skating just in front of Lifeline to cover for him Sci-Fi blocked, shoved and kicked his way to the other end of the ice. Steeler wasn't sure which one had the puck until it whizzed past his ankles into the net.  
  
"That's more like it." Lifeline smirked. Low Light groaned, now the medic was really charged. He'd be difficult to slow down, let alone stop.  
  
"Now I know how you guys felt last year." Low Light muttered to Steeler.  
  
"Yeah. Let's just say I ain't to happy to see four eyes get his stick on the puck." Steeler snorted back.  
  
At the other end of the ice Short Fuse and Frostbite were having it out for the prize. Frostbite got it first and made a break for the other goal. Short Fuse was tripped up by a small divot in the ice and ended up slamming into Ripcord. This time Ripcord's knee gave out altogether and he was helped off the ice. There was a chair next to Cover Girl and Ripcord gingerly sat down in it.  
  
Doc looked him over and packed snow onto the joint and wrapped it up in a towel. Ripcord got up and tossed the chair in front of him so he could lie down and rest his injured leg in the chair. The move probably saved him from getting decapitated. Low Light had taken a wild swing at the puck and sent it into the crowd. Cover Girl saw it heading straight for her and jumped off her seat. Ripcord saw her falling towards him and actually smirked when he caught her as she fell towards his chest.  
  
"Hi, nice of ya to drop in." He winked. Cover Girl was about to reply in kind when a better idea struck her.  
  
She grabbed a handful of snow and shoved it down the front of his sweats instead. "That'll cool ya off smart ass." She smirked. She wiped her hand on his shirt as an after thought. "Here you can have that back too." She said in mock disgust, while wiping his sweat off her glove. Ripcord was still trying to save his more sensitive areas from frostbite when Stretcher showed up again.  
  
Glancing at the two squabbling in the snow, Stretcher turned to Doc. "Iceberg's got a hairline fracture in the wrist, nothing to major. What's his problem?" He asked, jerking a thumb at Ripcord who was pelting Cover Girl with the snow she'd shoved down his pants.  
  
"Sprained knee and frozen assets." Doc commented dryly. "Do I have to sit you two in a corner?" He barked at Ripcord and Cover Girl.  
  
Stretcher got help from Cover Girl getting Ripcord to the Infirmary. Doc was shaking his head as he watched them leave before returning his attentions to the game. Hawk had blown the whistle for a penalty call when a small white fluff ball dashed out onto the ice. It was one of Frostbite's dogs that had gotten away from Snow Job. The dog slipped on the ice as she reached for the puck with her teeth. Sitting down for a moment she looked around.  
  
"Jenshina!" Frostbite bellowed. The dog looked at him with an innocent expression before dashing off again, the puck held firmly in her muzzle. Several other canines joined her as they began a game of keep away with the puck. Frostbite's head fell back when he saw little bits of black rubber fall into the snow. "I'm gonna skin her for a rug." He muttered.  
  
"That was the last puck we had that's in any shape to play with." Sci-Fi groused as he watched it being slowly shredded.  
  
In another part of the world, the COBRA elite had been watching the Joe's hockey game. "We strike now while they are exhausted!" Cobra Commander ordered his troops.  
  
"Nor bloody likely mate!" Torch exclaimed. "Last time we 'ad at em, they nearly killed us! And they'd just been playing bleeding rugby!" He added.  
  
"Yeah and that pacifier."  
  
"Pacifist!" Zandar corrected Monkey Wrench.  
  
"Pacifist, pacifier, same thing.He nearly knocked me bleeding block off with some kung fu crap!" Monkey Wrench offered.  
  
"Its called 'Aikido' and it is purely defensive." Zartan sighed. "I think what they are trying to say Commander is now is not the ideal time to invade them." The Dredknock's leader added.  
  
Dr. Mindbender stepped forward to add his agreements. "Commander with all aggression in the Joe's right now from a simple game, we'd be defeated soundly in no time."  
  
Cobra Commander went into one of his rages calling his troops cowards and the like when Serpentor entered. He'd heard the entire exchange from his antechambers and had decided enough was enough. "Be my guest Commander." Serpentor purred. "I just have one question. I too was watching their little game and I was wondering.would you like your funeral open or closed casket?"  
  
"Eh, good point. We'll wait until spring to attack." Cobra Commander mumbled. "It'll be safer then."  
  
THE END  
  
* White Chocolate Death (that thing Lifeline is drinking in the beginning of this) is a little concoction I cooked up once while working in a coffee bar. Its four shots of espresso, white chocolate stuff they use for mochas, steamed milk, and a shot of caramel.its sooooooooo good too. 


End file.
